


I Know It’s Today

by raspbirry_pancakes



Series: the melodies [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Based off “I Know It’s Today” from Shrek: The Musical, I’m apologizing in advance guys, M/M, This whole thing is a big yike, its pretty bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 15:36:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18527995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raspbirry_pancakes/pseuds/raspbirry_pancakes
Summary: Three times Roman wished to find the love of his life and the one time he found him.





	I Know It’s Today

**Author's Note:**

> I had “I Know It’s Today” from Shrek: The Musical stuck in my head and decided to write a story about it. 
> 
> Inspired by: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HoNLV5ETV6E  
>  
> 
> ...This is my apology in advance.

1. 

“Virgil! Virgil! I found a good one!” Roman called out, sliding down the railing and landing evenly on his feet.

Virgil peeked out from behind a tall bookcase and frowned.

“Don’t do that, Roman, you could get hurt,” he fretted, pulling at the sleeves of his oversized sweatshirt.

Roman just waved off the comment and tugged at Virgil’s arm until he dropped down next to him on a beanbag chair. He opened the book while Virgil peered over the text beside him, trying to comprehend the writing. Roman smiled a little at the sight and began to summarize the story.

“There’s a princess in a tower and she needs a haircut, but the witch won’t set her free- no doubt the fair maiden is being enslaved by the evil Dragon-Witch!” he leaned and whispered in Virgil’s ear as if telling a secret, making him laugh.

“But in the end, Rapunzel finds a millionaire, and the prince is good at climbing and braiding golden hair!” Roman said excitedly.

“Start reading it already,” Virgil whined, no doubt a little upset at the spoiled ending.

Roman began to read out loud, him being the better reader of the two six-year-olds afterall. After he finished, he hugged the book to his chest and sighed.

“When do you think my Prince Charming will come?”

“Your Prince Charming?” Virgil blinked curiously. 

Roman sat up straight and nearly dropped the book as he gestured wildly, “Yes! My Prince Charming! He should come any day now to sweep my off my feet!”

“But you’re not a girl. My mom said that only girls and boys should be together.”

“That’s silly. What if I want to be rescued by a prince and ride off into a sunset with him?”

Virgil seemed at a loss for words, “I… I don’t know,” he admitted.

Roman just patted his head and flipped through the book again. 

“I believe the story books I read by candlelight. My white knight and his steed will look like just like these pictures.”

He pointed at a picture inside the story as Virgil wrinkled his nose.

“He’s ugly.”

“It won’t be long now I guarantee,” Roman ignored him, hugging the book tightly again.

Virgil gave a small smile and stood to find another book when Virgil’s dad poked his head inside the small library. 

“Virgil, time to go.”

“Coming!” he waved to Roman before grabbing his backpack and darting out of the library.

Roman waited a moment after Virgil left before turning to the final page of  _ Rapunzel  _ and adding another tally to his chart.

“Day number twenty-three,” he counted to himself.  
  


2.

“Oh here’s a good one, it’s a classic.”

Roman held up a thin, white book over his head excitedly. He slid down the railing, ignoring Virgil’s frantic protests. He tugged his arm, pulling the teen down with him onto the old beanbag. It was a bit of a tight squeeze because they weren’t as small as they used to be, making the two fifteen-year-olds end up flushed against each other’s sides but Roman was unperturbed. 

He gestured to the title,  _ Snow White,  _ and began to summarize it for Virgil.

“There’s a princess in a coma-”

“Sleeping Beauty?”

“No, this pretty maiden’s in a glass box.”

“Filler, filler… been there, read that… skip ahead, skip ahead,” Roman whispered as he flicked through the book. 

Virgil looked ready to protest but Roman’s sudden gasp stopped him.

“But in the end the princess wakes up with a start. The prince is good at kissing,” Virgil’s face flooded with red as Roman winked at him, “and melting Snow White’s heart!”

“So I know, he’ll appear. And his armor will be blinding-” he began to sing.

Virgil snorted, “You made a  _ song _ ?” 

Roman ignored him and continued singing, grinning widely at his slightly amused expression. He stood from the beanbag and pulled Virgil up with him, spinning him twice as Virgil tried to hide his smile. 

“As shining as his perfect teeth, and manly hose. He’ll propose on one knee-”  Roman pushed Virgil down to one knee, mimicking the pose as he leaned down and tapped Virgil’s nose, thinking nothing of the heavy blush on his best friend’s face, “-and our prenup will be binding!”

“About time we set a wedding date!” Roman twirled once before picking up the old copy of  _ Rapunzel  _ and making another tally, “Day number nine hundred and fifty-eight.”

He closed the book to see Virgil hurriedly packing up his bag, headed for the door.

“Hey Virge, you going somewhere?” Roman asked, taking in his gloomy expression.

“Yeah. See ya,” he mumbled.

“Okay, well, see you tomorrow?” he asked carefully. 

Virgil nodded, not meeting Roman’s eyes as he left the library.

He didn’t come back for nearly two weeks. 

  
3.

Roman still visited the library he and Virgil used to read in when they were kids as much as possible. The library carried a lot of fond memories of his younger years so he visited it every chance he could- which was quite often since the college term just ended. He worked there unofficially- his college didn’t allow students to have part time jobs, which Roman resented. But Joan was kind enough to offer “volunteer” work for him and paid him anyway, despite his many protests. Also they let Roman sing as much as he wanted since he usually showed up during the slow periods when no one was in the library.

Roman sighed as he slid a few books back onto the shelves, absentmindedly wondering when Virgil would be back in town. 

Virgil used to show up a few times each week and help with shelving before he went to a different college, but when he was in town he would usually appear at the library. Joan usually gave them tasks to do near or with each other, giving Virgil a not-so-subtle wink that made him flustered and confused Roman to no end. But after Roman got together with Damien, Virgil completely ghosted him and rarely ever showed up at the library anymore. 

When they got together, Roman felt that Damien must’ve been his Prince Charming. He promised him so many great things but all had turned out to be lies. The relationship barely lasted four months before Roman was fed up and finally broke up with him. After the breakup, Virgil was a constant presence in his life, very much unlike how he was when he and Damien were together, and repetitively checked on Roman to the point where he would’ve been exasperated had it been anyone but Virgil. 

The darkly dressed teen was a comforting presence, even if the distance only allowed Roman to see him over Skype or through spontaneous midnight texts. And even after the situation with Damien, the two were able to pick up where they left off, no questions asked. Their relationship continued as normal, and Roman found that Virgil was just as easy to talk to as he’d always been.

Roman stared at the shelves of books, sighing quietly to himself, and for not the first time in that library, found himself wondering when he’d find his Prince Charming.

 

+1

Roman sighed once more as he dropped a heavy stack of books on the floor. He bent down and began to pick up the books, pausing when he saw the familiar pink title of  _ Rapunzel.  _ He flipped through it carefully, nostalgia making the corners of his mouth turn up in a gentle smile, the worn spine of the old fairytale barely keeping the pages together. 

A few pages before the end, Roman noticed his writing on the pages from when he was younger, just a few months before meeting Damien. The writing was scribbled when Roman was feeling borderline hysterical about never finding his true love. 

_ “‘It won’t be long now, I guarantee,’” _ Roman read out loud his younger self’s frantic writing, running a hand over the words as his heart panged sadly. 

Roman smiled sadly and pulled a pencil from his pocket, flipping to the very end of the book, “Day number-” he froze, looking over the rows and rows of tallies drawn in every available space. They littered the pages, drawn between previous tallies, and several were overlapping. 

Roman traced the tallies carefully, noticing more words squeezed between them, and read out quietly,  _ “‘Are you there, god? It’s me, Roman.’” _

He stared out the window, gently drumming his fingers against the spine of the book as he gazed at the passerby, sighing quietly.

“It’s me, Roman-”

A familiar figure walked past his field of vision, making Roman’s heart stutter. He could feel his face begin to burn red as he turned and waved to Roman, giving his usual smile that suddenly sent electricity down his spine.

Roman was frozen for a moment before he grinned and rushed to meet Virgil, the book making a dull thud as it fell to the floor, forgotten. 

Roman began running through the library, nearly tripping on the rug and several stacks of books in the process. Joan watched with confused amusement as Roman slid down the railing and burst through the library’s double doors.

“Virgil!”

Virgil looked startled but smiled at Roman, his cheeks flushing red as he pulled him in for a hug. Once he released him, Roman cupped Virgil’s face and matched his smile as he held him closer, his breath gently flickering over the other’s lips.

“Day number eight thousand, four hundred and twenty-three,” Roman mumbled quietly to himself before leaning in to kiss his Prince Charming.


End file.
